Full speech by Rick Perry withdrawing from the race and endorsing Newt.

If you want just the section endorsing Newt, it’s here, but I recommend listening to the whole speech, it’s worth it.

The Perry endorsement is huge not because Perry had a large percentage (although even a few percent helps), but because of his words about Newt’s conservatism, the need not just to replace Obama but to replace him with a conservative visionary, and redemption and everyone being imperfect. That last point is particularly important in light of the ABC News interview and Drudge headlines about Newt’s ex-wife.

Polling in the past two days confirms that Newt is surging in South Carolina:

Thank you Gov. Perry for doing the right thing and being classy and gracious. Santorum needs to do the same. He’s polling far behind and will not win the nomination. As Gov. Palin said, he needs to take one for the team and step out and get behind Gingrich.

But Perry needs to stay in Texas. He is a strategic asset, just as is Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Chris Christie in New Jersey, Marco Rubio in the Senate, Paul Ryan and Allen West in the House, Sarah in the media, and so on. We are building something, and we need to keep our heavy hitters right where they’re hitting.

Actually, I’m curious as to what Retire’s thoughts are now. He was most definitely ALL IN for Perry, does he retool and support another candidate, or does he take his ball and go home? Retire, if you’re reading this, I’d be interested in your thoughts right now.

Tell me, why are you so interested in my opinion now? I have been telling you that Rick Perry was the most conservative candidate the GOP had for months. Someone with an ACTUAL record of implementing conservative values and putting them into practice. But you didn’t care, did you? You wanted someone like Chris Christie who would spar verbally with the hated left. Fine, now you’ve got him. And like Christie, when you scrape off the vitriol, you get a eastcoast RINO.

But in order to support Newt, you have to go back on every damn thing conservatives have ever said about Bill Clinton and his skirt chasing. You have, if you ever had them, given up every conservative, Christian value you were taught to support a man whose marriage vows held less value than the paper they were written on. You go along as other ridicule and say snarky comments about his ex wife, when even Newt has not done that.

Oh, but read the accolades that are now being said about Rick Perry; “class act, classy, gracious, patriot”. Where were those accolades when he was running? Hypocrites, all of you. The only reason you are now singing Perry’s praises is because he endorsed the cheater you want to be POTUS. Where was all the praise for a man who joined the military when others had to be drafted? Who fought Mother Nature on a hard scrabble cotton farm and understands what everyday Americans go through? Who promoted and got such legislation as elimation of ad valorum taxes for veterans with 100% military disabilities, Sonigram requirements before an abortion, a balanced budget without raising taxes by cutting state government spending, not once, but many times, who steadfastly defended Israel, not now when it has become politically expedient, but for the last 20 years. Where was all the praise over those things?

In 2010, the TEA Party took to the streets to demand that our government listen to us and implement a more conservative government. We elected those like Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, Allen West, and Franciso Canseco. We reversed state houses from D to R, and elected the most Republicans since the days of FDR. And for what? So that the last man standing will be just another status quo candidate? It was all for naught.

Did you get behind Rick Perry, knowing that he would do what Sarah Palin advocates and shake up D.C.? Nope. You sat by as he was labeled Dubya Two, dumb, just “another” Texan, yada, yada, yada.

So I find it a bit amazing that you are now interested in my opinion when you could not have cared less about it when you climbed out of bed this morning.

You lost. The nation lost when Rick Perry ended his campaign. And Texas won because we will keep the most conservative man to have run for POTUS in the last 25 years. We will continue to be the most transparent state government in the nation, build jobs and lives, keep our taxes low, and fight to keep the federal leviathan from taking over our state. With Governor Perry’s help and guidance, we will continue to pass laws that protect the unborn, defy the TSA, EPA and other federal bullies, while all of you wring your hands wondering why you are relinquishing more and more of your God given freedoms daily.

Perhaps Newt will win the nomination. But he will not win the general election. So prepare yourself for another four years of Obama. You deserve it.

Me? What will I do? What I have been doing for over a year now. I will prepare to get ready for a nation that is spiraling downhill so quickly that you are not going to know what hit you. $5.00 per gallon gas. The closing of coal fired power plants that will cause your electric bill to skyrocket. Food costs that are going to continue to escalate. Fewer and fewer Americans in the work force. The dollar devalued to the point where we understand what the Wiemar Republic was like.

Will I support another candidate? What do you suggest I do? Give up my Christian values to vote for a man who cheated on not one, but two wives after he decided that the latest skirt he was chasing was better than what he had at home? Vote for the guy who is Obama Lite? Or maybe you recommend the man who has embarrased my state for 23 years now with his racist letters, his connections to Lew Rockwell and Murray Rothbard, and other black helicopter conspiracy theorists who make me ashamed that Paul ever moved to Texas, and who will run third ticket if he loses SC and Florida? Or maybe the other guy who will not even be able to carry his own state? Which poison do you recommend for me?

I am proud of Rick Perry today, just as I was yesterday, and last year, and last decade. I know the nation lost today and so I, unlike Michelle Obama, am not proud of my nation.

In the primary in Texas, I will write in Governor Perry’s name. In the general election, I will vote down-ticket but will not contribute to the status quo.

You should be commended for standing up for your principles. At the same time, you can still contribute, potentially mightily, while retaining your honor…

1. Write in Rick Perry. (Pick a VP too.)
2. Become a leader in Operation Counterweight. Find, support, and promote worthwhile Congressional, state, county, municipal, and local candidates, people who will ably defend liberty, fight for smaller and more responsive government, call the federal government on the carpet when necessary, and who will unabashedly move the conservative ball forward. This is where you can focus and excel. With the presidential bid off your plate, you need not be concerned about the ridiculous glitz and shenanigans. You can fight for who and what is right. Save your energies and passion for the battles you can fight.
3. Spread the truth about Barack Obama, but don’t poison the well by badmouthing the Republican. (Yes, I may have to eat crow if Romney is nominated. I’m not blind.) Explain why Barack Obama’s policies are disastrous for this country, why voting for him is akin to cutting ones own throat.
4. Become your own precinct captain. Inform yourself and everyone around you. Become the go-to person for election and candidate knowledge. Reach out to campaign committees, get points of contact, organize rallies, and if you are so moved find Tea Party Movement folks who will work with you.
5. Pray for the nation.

Henry, I am not a camp follower or a groupie. I am an informed voter who will NOT contribute to the decline of this nation every again. I help my nose with Bush I, Bush II and McCain. Do you really think Gingrich has run a first class campaign because he hasn’t. Perry got in when HIS campaign staff quit Gingrich. Let’s see; book tours, cruises, etc. all brilliant campaign tactics, right?

You go right ahead and vote for the guy with the best campaign tactics, and that would be Mitt, not Newt. Your honor seems to hold little value.

That’s part of the problem of why Perry’s campaign was so abysmal Retire05. Perry would have been better served by saying “thanks, but no thanks” to the rats who abandoned Gingrich’s ship. Those staff, while they look good on paper, aren’t the best-and-brightest in the campaign world. Gingrich kept them on because they were comfortable; i.e. he knew who they were from longstanding relationships, but they didn’t have any vision of what THIS campaign cycle is going to look like. Had they stayed on, Gingrich probably would have said “to hell with it” and quit months ago.

Perry is a fine person, but that doesn’t make him a fine candidate. Further, he hasn’t been properly “handled” as a candidate by his campaign. They overworked him by sending him out everywhere, didn’t spend enough time prepping for debates (even with his great personality and presence, he debates poorly, so they should have had him working extra hard at it to begin with), didn’t respond forcefully enough to attacks, and he just generally wasn’t sufficiently polished enough.

I do wonder if this was a strategic decision by Perry (and endorsing Gingrich) for some future consideration. I can see Perry being Secretary of the Interior or of Agriculture.

So you’ve decided on the bitter “Y’all are too stupid to know what’s good for you” route. Got it. Personally, I would suggest that you might need to do some more reading of your bible to see what “christian values”, as taught by Christ, really are. Start with the first part of of the eighth chapter of John, and perhaps follow up with some devotional time in Luke 7, considering the nature of repentance. I don’t expect Newt to wash my feet, but I am willing to accept that people can change over time. King David committed a far, far greater sin with Bathsheba, yet he was still a great king. Newt’s philandering is between he, his wife and his God. All I care about is having a candidate who is going to eviscerate (metaphorically) the SCOMF in the White House now.

There is repentence, and there is forgiveness. Without one, there can not be the other. It is not my position to forgive. That is above my pay grade. Only God can absolve you from your sins, and so far, I have not received the memo that I now have that power.

There is also that whole thing about restitution toward those you have harmed. Running for president is not seeking restitution for those harmed, it is seeking grandeur for yourself.

Retire, I just got home from work and read it all. I agree with you 100%. I cannot as a Conservative (social,fiscal, national security ) vote for Newt Gingrich. Many who comment on this site have a less stringent social moral code, and maybe the more sophisticated people can find a way to fool themselves that a man who cheated on 2 wives shares our family values. I cannot.

538 shows a tied race now, roughly 50/50 chance of Newt win. Simple average of all post-debate polling also shows even race (though Politico poll showing Romney at 37 is probably an outlier).

But if you look at RCP’s South Carolina polling for 2008, it shows Huckabee surging at the end to a near tie with McCain, and McCain still pulled out a 3-point win. Newt doesn’t have the organization and establishment backing Romney does so he has to post a 4-5 point lead in the average going into Saturday.

You nailed it. Conventional wisdom. Ever since the Tea Party Movement and the Town Hall Rebellions, conventional wisdom is being turned on its head. The Establishment is tripping over chairs trying to restore it.

Like retire05, Perry was my choice. I believe conservatism is part of his DNA. He stayed true to his values in the way he has governed and in his personal life. I think he would be a great President, the best of all those running for the office. I am disappointed that his campaign failed and I hope that we have not seen the last of Rick Perry on the national stage. If, Obama should win another term (oh please let not that happen), perhaps we’ll see Perry campaigning in 2016, if there is anything left to campaign for. In the meantime, I’m all in for Gingrich right now. If Romney (or Santorium, who is really started to grate on me) wins the nomination, I’m all in for them as well. The thought of Obama in the White House for another four years is too distressing. retire05, I hope you’re wrong about Gingrich not being able to win. Do you think Romney or Santorium have a better chance?

I can only imagine what would would happen if there was a Gingrich/Santorum ticket. (Yes, I know it’s highly unlikely.) All of a sudden, a bidding war breaks out as all the networks try to sign up Dan Brown as a “senior political analyst” …

Perry’s young. He has a lot of time before him to win the presidency. I would have preferred him because of his record for fiscal matters and conservatism. However, he did not have the backing of the republican base. The base allowed the media to influence them…again. I support Newt now because I am not only ABO, I am also ABR.And it looks like Newt is the only one to stop both my ABs.

Mr Jacobson was correct. This concession speech by Rick Perry was absolutley inspiring, and from the heart and soul of a conservative patriotic American, regardless of the effects, that a National US Presidential political campaign toll, can take and have on a person, not to mention their family.

Why didn’t he give that kind of speech beforehand.. He should have.

I am more than sure, and have absolutley no doubt that Newt is not only grateful, but honored to have Rick Perry’s endorsement. Especially when it comes from, not just a fellow conservative political leader, but a U.S. Military Veteran..

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